


Dances With Wolfgang

by CupofTia



Series: Strike and Wolfgang Adventures [14]
Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith, Strike (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Established Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28753998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupofTia/pseuds/CupofTia
Summary: Part 14 (The Final Part) of the Strike and Wolfgang Adventure Series.In which it's The Big Day...
Relationships: Ilsa Herbert & Cormoran Strike, Ilsa Herbert/Nick Herbert, Robin Ellacott & Cormoran Strike, Robin Ellacott & Ilsa Herbert, Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Series: Strike and Wolfgang Adventures [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965541
Comments: 19
Kudos: 37





	Dances With Wolfgang

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is guys! The final (*sobs*) instalment of this series! 
> 
> I had planned to keep this quite short but it completely ran away with me and was so much fun to write, so it's actually the longest in the series I think. But who cares - it's The Big Day! 
> 
> Am I proud of this title? Yes I am. It made me laugh so much when I thought of it and I'm so glad I got to use it.
> 
> I really am gonna miss this silly little series. It's been wonderful to write but I think it's reached its end. And I don't mean that in an X-Files, we-say-we’re-done-but-here’s-another-series way - this really is the end!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your continued support, kudos, wonderful comments, and for reading! Particularly to those of you who have read the whole series - it has meant the world to me! If I could gift this to all of you I would!
> 
> Thank you as well to all of the lovely Discord people who inspire me and make me smile every single day.
> 
> Okay, I'm starting to make this sound like an Oscar acceptance speech so I'm gonna stop before I drown in my own melodrama.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

“I still say we should have eloped.” Robin told Strike on the phone the night before their wedding.

“Yeah except Ilsa would have killed us. Violently.” Strike said chuckling slightly.

“Hhm, you’ve got a point. I’m still not certain she isn’t planning to after we vetoed so many of her ideas. Thank god we managed to keep it in London and to tone it down as much as we have.”

“Yeah. Could be worse, we could have ended up with an actual venue like she wanted. Having it here isn’t so bad. Though I still would’ve preferred to have it at my flat.”

“Don’t you mean _my_ flat? Your flat can barely fit one other person in.”

“Exactly, just you and me. That’s my kind of wedding.”

Robin laughed, “Well that wouldn’t have been too bad I suppose…you’ll have to enlighten me on the experience tomorrow night.”

Strike almost growled down the phone, “Can’t we just skip to that part?”

“It’ll be worth the wait.” Robin promised him teasingly, “Just got to get through Ilsa’s plans first.”

“Fine.” Strike said groaning. “Is she sticking to the ‘small’ part of ‘small gathering’ once we get back from the registry office?”

“Yep. She’s promised. Small party. Just family and close friends.”

“Yeah except you have about fifty brothers.” Strike said laughing. “Hang on, you said ‘party’?”

“Well I personally haven’t been to many ‘gatherings’ that feature an ice sculpture.

“Christ.” Strike said alarmed. “Well I suppose we had to give her something. Is it that god awful entwined hearts one that she chose?”

“No. She let me place the order once I agreed to get one. Let’s just say it’s not quite the one she was expecting.”

“Uh oh. What did you get?” Strike asked with trepidation.

“You’ll see. It’ll arrive in the morning.” Robin assured him.

“Can’t wait. S’pose I’m kinda looking forward to the rest of the day too.”

“Woah Strike, save some of that romance for our vows.” Robin joked.

Cormoran chuckled and then stopped abruptly. There was silence for a moment before he asked anxiously, “Hang on, we weren’t writing our own vows were we?!”

Robin was silent for a few seconds before saying dramatically, “You mean _you_ haven’t?”

“Robin if you’re fucking with me…” Strike said nervously, praying to god that she was.

“Course I am you idiot!” She said, unable to suppress her giggles any longer. “Writing our owns vows, imagine! Words aren’t exactly your strong suit, no offence.”

“Oh believe me, none taken.” He said, feeling immensely relieved and grinning down the phone.

“So…I guess I’ll see you in the morning…Mr Ellacott to be.” Robin teased.

He snorted. “Oh, we settled on that name did we?”

“Well no but I thought since we’re nearly married I’d start taking liberties early. What’s a days difference eh?” She said in a business like tone.

Strike’s cheeks were starting to ache but he couldn’t stop himself grinning even more widely as he said, “I love you Ellacott.”

“And here I was thinking you were marrying me for money.” Robin countered, unable to stop smiling herself. “I love you too. I really should go now, get some beauty sleep.”

“You don’t need it. Beautiful enough.”

“Have you and Nick been drinking?” She asked suspiciously.

“No. Well yeah, but like, only a pint or two, doesn’t really count.” Strike said shrugging.

“If you turn up late for my second wedding I’ll be pretty pissed.” Robin told him as sternly as she could manage.

“See earlier comment about murderous Ilsa.”

“True,” Robin conceded, “She still hasn’t forgiven you for the stag do.”

“Don’t remind me.” Strike said grimacing, “Never did find out where my leg was for those two days.”

“Clearly with someone who knew who you were and could drop it off. Thank god! Honestly, how drunk _were_ you?”

“That’s rich coming from you, what about your hen do?” Strike countered.

“Well no need to talk about that, as I said I need to get some sleep.” Robin responded briskly.

“So you don’t want to discuss your drunken suggestion that night to tail us?” Strike probed cheekily.

“I wanted to see how your stag night was going!” Robin said defensively, “I maintain that it was a great suggestion.”

“Mmmhmm,” Strike murmured, smirking now, “And how long were you tailing that other bloke before you realised he wasn’t actually me?”

“Alright!” Robin defended further. “He had the same coat as you and I was…a little tipsy. But since we’re asking questions, how long were you waiting outside my place that night because you missed me?”

“I’ll have you know it took me ages to get there on crutches! And I imagine it was probably about as long as you were outside my place.” He threw back at her.

“I had some files to get from the office.” Robin insisted stubbornly.

“That’s strange because you were passed out on the stairs _past_ the office when we found you.” Strike mused mockingly.

Robin began to argue back but before she had a chance, Ilsa suddenly came out of her bedroom and shouted through the house, “Will you two be _quiet_! I put you in separate rooms to stop this _exact_ thing from happening. Now it’s my big day tomorrow…

“ _Their_ big day sweetheart” They heard Nick interrupt meekly from the bedroom.

“Alright, _our_ big day!” Ilsa snapped. “Whatever. It’s a big day! So can we _please_ get some sleep!” She went back to her room and slammed the door.

Strike lay on the sofa in the Herbert’s living room, Robin in bed in the spare room; both were silent. They lay like scolded school children for a minute or two not daring to make a sound, and then, unable to control themselves any longer, they both erupted into muffled laughter, much to the disapproval of their shared host.

* * *

The following morning the Herbert household descended into chaos as preparations began for the day ahead.

The cats were collected by a neighbour so they wouldn’t have to endure the torture of thirty odd guests plus Wolfgang invading their domain.

The cavalry (namely Lucy and Linda) arrived to help with food and decorations, whilst Michael and Ted, who took an instant liking to one another, helped by trying their utmost not to get in the way. Nick on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky in escaping his duties and proceeded to hang the bunting and fold napkins resignedly.

Meanwhile, Strike and Robin got ready in separate parts of the house, having been told by Ilsa not to go near one other under pain of death.

Robin had to laugh at her friend’s insistence that the bad luck rule still applied even though she wasn’t wearing a wedding dress. As she had told Ilsa, and indeed her Mother countless times already, she’d done the whole big, white dress, big, fancy wedding thing already and look how that had turned out!

She had opted instead for a fitted women’s black tuxedo with a cream blouse, a pair of black kitten heels and the simple but elegant hairstyle she had once worn to the Roper Chard party. She was happy with the overall effect, though she knew she would have been happy to wear a bin bag today; she was marrying her best friend, and nothing else really mattered.

Max and his partner arrived just before eleven, signalling that it was time to get going. They swapped Wolfgang for Ilsa's keys, having agreed they’d wait in for the delivery of the ice sculpture and watched as Ilsa rounded everyone up making sure that Strike and Robin didn’t see each other.

Bundling into separate cars – Nick, Ted, Lucy and Cormoran in one car, Ilsa, Linda, Michael, Robin and Wolfgang (whom Strike and Robin had both insisted must be at the ceremony) in another – they headed towards the registry office.

The ceremony was lovely. Strike wore a new suit and fresh haircut that each somehow made him look ten years younger, though that was probably in large part down to the fact he was the happiest and most relaxed he’d ever been in his life. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Robin and wondered not for the first time, if he was dreaming.

Robin couldn’t help the tears forming in her eyes when she saw him anymore than he could stop the ones in his as he mouthed, “You’re beautiful” when she came to face him. They were entranced by one another and for a moment felt like the only two people in the room.

This illusion quickly dissipated however, as Ilsa, Lucy, Ted and Linda seemed to have taken it upon themselves to organise a competition titled, ‘Who can cry the most and the loudest?’ The final results were too close to call.

Equally distracting, though of course not unwelcome, was the sight of Wolfgang, who in a little tuxedo of his own, was the cutest ring bearer you ever did see. He was so proud of his humans, now they had finally stopped being so silly, and couldn’t stop his tail wagging through the whole ceremony. This didn’t stop him performing his duties perfectly of course, and he was delighted to receive many well deserved biscuits.

The Happy Couple arrived back at Nick and Ilsa’s to a lively welcome and many heartfelt congratulations from their other guests who had steadily begun to arrive. As they made their way into the increasingly cramped kitchen the newly married pair were greeted with the most brilliant sight.

Sat atop Nick and Ilsa’s counter, was a flawless and comically oversized statue of Wolfgang, looking absolutely magnificent in all of his ice-sculpted glory.

Cormoran roared with laughter, looking adoringly from the statue to his new wife, “Brilliant!” He bellowed, “You’re a genius!”

“Tell me something I don’t know!” she said, beaming back at him.

Ilsa walked into the room from behind them, Wolfgang in hand and groaned loudly, “Really, Robin?”

Wolfgang looked at her, clearly a little wounded.

“Oh, no offence Wolfgang!” She said giving him a good scratch. “It’s just…”

“Ilsa,” Robin asked, “Are you telling me that Wolfgang, King of Dogs, Supreme Matchmaker and all round Best Boi doesn’t deserve to have a statue in his honour?”

She and Cormoran looked at her expectantly, their eyes twinkling in amusement. Ilsa looked down at Wolfgang once more and found him giving her an expression that seemed to say, ‘I think a statue in my honour is quite fitting actually, after all of my efforts to get these two together.’

Ilsa capitulated almost instantly, rolling her eyes and smiling, “No, of course that’s not what I’m saying. It’s no more than he deserves.” Wolfgang quite agreed.

The consumption of a few drinks saw a much more sociable Strike and the arrival of the final guests, including, to Strike’s delight, Dave and Penny Polworth.

Strike was even more pleased to see them free of their children, having insisted that Robin’s niece and his three nephews were quite enough children for one day. He had hoped to just have one nephew, but Robin had insisted that he couldn’t just invite Jack and that yes, he’d also have to invite their father, Greg.

As Cormoran and Robin greeted the Polworths at the door, they were shocked to see Dave carrying a small sausage dog in his hands that wasn’t Wolfgang.

“Since when have you had a dog Chum?!” Strike asked him in surprise.

“She’s not mine Diddy! Didn’t Ted tell you? We’ve been watching her for him at the hotel whilst you were at the Reception.”

At that moment Ted came bounding over and grabbed the small dog from Polworth’s hands, “There she is! My little Winifred!”

Cormoran stared at his Uncle, “Ted, why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I wanted it to be a surprise!” Ted said excitedly.

“Please tell me she’s not our present!” Strike said laughing.

“Of course not! She’s mine.” Ted said proudly. “After you two came to visit with Wolfgang, I realised what tremendous company they are! And well, after Joanie…she’s a bit of an oldie like me, Winifred, so we’ll suit each other well.”

“I think it’s brilliant, Ted!” Strike told his Uncle, joining a besotted Robin in giving Winifred a fuss.

“Our wedding present is that we came to bloody London!” Dave said laughing. “Congratulations Diddy!” He then whispered to Strike as he moved past, “Tolstoy! What’d I tell you eh?”

“What about Tolstoy?” Robin asked Strike quizzically, but to his relief, Ilsa chose that moment to shout, “First Dance!” from the kitchen, announcing another ‘must’ of the day that she had refused to budge on.

Hurrying before Ilsa could get too stressed, Cormoran and Robin took their positions in the now ludicrously overcrowded kitchen, making sure to grab Wolfgang from his spot on Max’s lap in the garden on the way.

“Boy have we got a surprise for you after this dance, Bud!”, Strike told Wolfgang excitedly. Wolfgang desperately hoped it was more biscuits.

Cradling Wolfgang between them, the incandescently happy couple begun to sway to the music as Cat Stevens’ ‘I Love My Dog’ blared out of a small speaker. Wolfgang seemed thrilled by their choice but they heard Ilsa groaning again and started giggling, delighted by their own mischievousness.

**I love my dog as much as I love you**  
**But you may fade, my dog will always come through**

As other couples began to join Strike and Robin, Ilsa made a beeline for them, leading Nick in a dance of their own as she did, “You couldn’t have picked a more romantic song?!” She asked them crossly.

They laughed at her, “What are you on about? This is perfect!”

“‘You may fade?’ – that’s nice on your first day of marriage!”

They laughed even harder, “You don’t have to take it literally, Ils,” Robin said, “We just wanted something that would include Wolfgang, we wouldn’t be here without him.” They both looked down at him, smitten.

“You couldn’t have picked ‘Puppy Love’ or something?” Ilsa asked helplessly.

They looked at her in exasperation. “Are you aware of whose wedding you’re at Ilsa?” Cormoran asked her, shaking her head slightly.

Ilsa danced away, leading Nick intently towards the source of the music with a look of determination on her face.

Strike and Robin watched her go, both chuckling, before looking once more into each other’s eyes.

“You know, I never will fade.” Strike told Robin sincerely.

“I know.” She said softly.

“Although a few parts have gone missing – I swear I used to have a whole leg.”

“You’re an idiot, Cormoran Strike.” Robin told him, pure adoration on her face.

“You’re the one who just married me, so who’s the real idiot?” He said, grinning goofily down at her.

“Still you.” She said kissing him tenderly. “And for the record, I’ll never fade either…just like Wolfgang, I’ll always be here…Wolfgang?” She cried in confusion as the sausage dog’s head whipped around dramatically and stared across the room.

At the exact moment Ilsa changed the music and the sounds of ‘Puppy Love’ began to play across the room, the crowd shifted slightly to reveal Ted stood with Winifred, allowing Wolfgang his first sighting of her.

In perfect unison they jumped down to the floor and made their way towards each other almost in slow motion. As Wolfgang watched the beautiful sausage dog with a bow around her neck move towards him, he came to the conclusion, much like Strike had a year and a half previously, that biscuits are better enjoyed, when you have someone to share them with.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Cat Stevens and just had to use this song 😂
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.
> 
> All of the love ❤️


End file.
